


Erased

by CaspianTheGeek (DemonicGeek)



Category: Good Omens (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Aziraphale Loves Crowley (Good Omens), Crowley Loves Aziraphale (Good Omens), Established Relationship, Eventual cuddles and kisses, Gabriel is a jerk, M/M, Memory Alteration, Memory Loss, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:02:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27878054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DemonicGeek/pseuds/CaspianTheGeek
Summary: Crowley wakes up to a normal day. Except it feels like something isn't right and there are certain things in his life he can't quite explain. Something is missing, and he's going to find out what it is.
Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)
Comments: 29
Kudos: 45





	1. Chapter 1

Crowley rolled over and reached out in his sleep. He patted the side of the bed, somehow expecting something to be there. Nothing was. He slowly blinked away and wondered at himself, why would he think something would be there? It’s not like he’d ever encouraged anyone to spend the night. He liked his privacy.

He stretched out. Just another day spent after having saved the world. Not that he’d done it for any good reason, of course, he just rather liked wine. And being up here was considerably better than being down there. Besides, really Adam had done most of the work. Now Crowley could just bask in the enjoyment of a job well done and no longer being under Hell’s thumb. Though he wasn’t quite sure why they were leaving him alone.

Crowley dragged himself from the bed and to the far too complicated coffee maker. Instead of trying to sort all the knobs this early in the morning, he simply snapped his fingers. A few minutes later, the carafe was full of coffee and he opened the cabinet door to reach for his mug.

There he froze. Next to his black and red coffee mug sat an ivory one. It had angel wings. It was clearly not within the decorating parameters of his flat, nor anything he knew he would willingly bring home. After all, why would he want to be reminded of those sanctimonious fools upstairs?

He stared at the mug. The mug sat there, pristine and waiting. He could almost hear an echo of a voice asking about cocoa then as fast he heard it it was gone.

Something was wrong. He felt it in every piece of him and it rocked him. He was missing something, something important. For a moment there was a hole in his chest that threatened to swallow him completely and then he pushed it down. Nonsense. It was just a mug. Just a mug, next to his own in his flat where no one other occult or ethereal being had ever been.

Crowley made a decision. He grabbed his mug and slammed the door shut.

As he sat and drank his coffee, black as his soul he would claim though it was quite sugared, he tried to ignore the nagging feeling. This evening was a small party in Tadfield that Adam had invited him to. He’d tried to get out of it, but he’d always had a soft spot for kids.

That was hours away. Perhaps some minor mischief in the meantime would help. He wasn’t on Hell’s books anymore and didn’t need to do anything, but maybe helping the humans be a bit more frustrated would siphon off some of his own. And he could do some shopping, surely Adam would like a small gift.

The thought of a set of books popped into his head and he wondered why, but he picked up his phone and looked up the nearest bookshop. It wasn’t far, so he decided to walk.

Crowley froze on the sidewalk outside the shop staring at the sign. He whispered the name as he read it, “Family books! In the family since 1800!”

It felt wrong. He didn’t know what should be there in the gold lettering on the burgundy backing, but it wasn’t that. Still, he stepped inside.

The inside was cluttered and full. It certainly looked like it had been in the family for hundreds of years, and that they’d never tidied up. Still, Crowley felt oddly at home there, as if he knew the place. He stepped forward because he could swear just through this door-

“Excuse me, sir. That’s for staff only. Can I help you?”

He looked at the teenager that had dared to interrupt him. He could easily scare him off, but- it struck him. Why _was_ he here? Adam liked to read, but books as a gift?

“No, I’m fine. Thank you.” He walked from the shop, not looking back. He didn’t want it to draw him in again.

He walked down the sidewalk, keeping a wide space to his right as if someone-

This was stupid. Park. He’d go to the park. Go for a walk to clear his head. Then he’d go see Adam, and maybe he’d just sleep for a week until this weird waking dream was over.

As he strode through the park, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing. But the more he shifted through his mind trying to sort what it was, the more he felt as if he were running into some sort of fog. Had someone done something to him while he slept?

Crowley sat on a bench and watched the ducks in the pond. He conjured some seed and threw it out to them, watching with a small smile as the children pestered their parents for some seeds as well.

He searched back through his memories. He’d been on earth a long time and there were so many. He tempted Eve to eat the apple then watched and she and Adam were cast out from the Garden by- who? Who had escorted them out? He shook his head.

Then there was the Flood and the raft with the children he’d saved. He had explained it to- but no. He hadn’t. Who would he have told? He did what he wanted to and those children would grow to be right evil beings if God had wanted to destroy them.

And there was Jesus at Golgotha. He’d liked Jesus, and was still upset over how Heaven treated him. He wished he’d just had someone he could have talked to about that over some wine. Just like he wished he had someone he could talk to now, but it’s not like the humans would get it.

He shook his head to clear it and tried to focus on the water in front of him again. There was a pair of swans in the back of the pond. One was black as his wings and the other the purest white. The white one leaned in and entwined its neck around the black swan’s own.

A flash of white feathers filling his vision and the feeling of warmth.

Crowley jumped to his feet. The ducks flew away, but the swans stayed there not bothered by his display. There were tears rolling down his cheeks and he wasn’t sure why they were there.

He stood there unmoving until he could pull the memory of that flash of white wings forward. It was a split second, but everything in it felt right. White feathers, to match the angel wing mug.

This was foolish, he was about to have a breakdown in the middle of a park. He glanced at his watch. He had a party to get to. He hurried home and to the Bentley, he could still make it on time if he drove at his normal speed.

He threw himself into his car and turned the key. He’d expected Freddie’s voice to come from the radio. This car and her crush on the singer, he adored them both.

Instead, a woman’s voice came from the radio.

_Listen to your heart when he’s calling for you_

_Listen to your heart, there’s nothing else you can do_

_I don’t know where you’re going and I don’t know why_

_But listen to your heart before you tell him goodbye_

Crowley smacked the radio off with a hiss, “Not you too!”

The Bentley’s engine purred quietly as he pulled into traffic. He tried to piece it together as he drove, but nothing was making sense. Perhaps Adam would have answers for him, and at the very least he’d be a distraction.

As he drove he tried to force himself to remember, but there was nothing there to show him what was going on. He thought about Shakespeare and his stupid plays. He did enjoy the funny ones, though. He thought about eating crepes to the sound of a guillotine. He thought about obtaining holy water- he nearly swerved off the road. He wasn’t sure why the memory hurt, he couldn’t quite pull it up but it ached.

At the party, Crowley tried pulling the antichrist to the side. Adam had had no answers. He’d squinted at him and told him it looked like something had been locked away but he didn’t know what.

Then Dog had barked and Adam had run back to his friends.

Now Crowley was driving back to his flat in the dark, and he was still ruminating. Someone had done something. Someone had changed something in his mind, and Crowley was going to find out who and make them pay for it.

The problem was he didn’t know who it was. Hell wasn’t this creative and if Heaven wanted to do something they would have surely just smote him. Why not just get rid of the demon causing them issues?

This was someone going rogue, but he didn’t know why any of them would change whatever they had changed.

He threw his keys to the side as he walked into his flat and made his way back towards his throne.

His eyes settled on a lectern and he paused. It was old and winged. And it felt holy as if it were from a church. What the Hell was it doing in his flat?

Crowley stepped towards it, his hand coming up automatically.

This time when the flash hit it was stronger. And there was a face. The face was looking at him with the most peculiar expression as if there were something about Crowley that he desired. He was holding a leather bag and standing in rubble, the lectern behind him framing him with wings of fire.

Crowley closed his eyes and focused only on the flash of insight.

It was barely more than a second’s worth of memory, but the face had a name in his mind.

“Aziraphale,” he whispered. Angel. He was an angel. He was holy. Who was he and why did it feel like he belonged in Crowley’s life?


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I posted on twitter, but I realized what was missing from chapter two of this fic so... chapter two got changed up and split into two chapters. SORRY.
> 
> It'll be worth it for the extra pain pay off :)
> 
> There is no schedule, but I'm editing chapter three right now and as I have no chill it may even go up tonight. We'll see.

Crowley pulled his phone from his pocket, dialing as he did so. Eric picked up on the second ring, “Hey, look. Eric. Your lot didn’t have anything to do with an angel recently did they?”

No, no of course they hadn’t. Eric would know, he was the filing clerk along with all the other drudge filled jobs down there. But he liked Crowley and would tell him the truth and Crowley believed him when he said in a confused voice that no angel had been taken to Hell.

That left only one place that could have Aziraphale and could tell Crowley what was going on.

He made his way to the escalator he’d used so many times to report in. He always took the one going down. This time, he stepped onto the one going up and hoped that he wouldn’t be destroyed simply for doing so.

A sigh of relief escaped his lips as he stepped off into Heaven. This wasn’t over, not by a long shot. But at least he hadn’t exploded into flames just walking in the door.

The layout hadn’t changed much in six thousand years and Crowley quickly made his way to the file room. It was all digitized these days, but Crowley was able to quickly bring up the file labeled Aziraphale. The file name displayed a picture of the face Crowley had seen in the rubble, albeit looking far less pleased.

When Crowley tried to open the file it blinked at him:  _ Denied. _

He tried to override it. The file folded itself down and informed him someone would be coming to approve his request.

That wouldn’t work. He slid from the room wondering what he should try next. This angel Aziraphale was someone Heaven was trying to hide from his memory. Was he an informant? Maybe he’d helped Crowley? That didn’t require Crowley going to these extents to help him, but he wanted to know why Heaven had seen fit to tamper with him. And to ensure they wouldn’t do so again.

Crowley’s feet carried him in a familiar path and he found himself standing outside the star studio. He laid his hand on the door and wondered if he’d dare to go in. Those memories were still clear as day, laughing as he played with stardust.

He stepped in.

The main room was dark and empty. Unlike the rest of Heaven with its wide sunny windows, this one was shrouded in darkness with just the night sky visible above. Crowley looked up at the stars and sighed. This wasn’t helping, and he wouldn’t find the answer he was seeking here. It was just a defunct portion of Heaven, no longer needed and thus empty.

Still, he found himself heading back to his own private studio. He pushed the door open. The tools inside were dusty and probably ruined. He ignored them and walked to the edge of the room, looking out over his small portion of space. Vega and Altair seemed to glow slightly more brightly at his return. He couldn’t help but smile.

“I think I thought if I came here, it’d help fix the other memories. Not how it works though, is it?” he whispered to no one. He sighed and sank to the ground. He wondered if he dared reach out to Her, especially here. He settled for simply talking, knowing that She was listening, “I know you’re watching. You know what’s been taken from me. Not that you’ve ever hesitated to take things from me, but this one seems somehow more important. Would a clue really be that bad?”

Crowley sat in the silence and stared at the stars as he tried to think of alternatives. Then he heard a voice walking past the door, “And the demon Crowley?”

Another voice, “Not a problem now that Aziraphale is removed.”

Why did that name fill Crowley with such longing, hearing it on the other angel’s lips?

The first angel continued, “And you’ve found a way to get rid of Aziraphale? For good this time?”

Crowley froze. That cemented it, something was going on. This Aziraphale meant something. And they were directly outside his door now, if they cared enough to turn and glance in..

“I have an idea I’d like to try. Until I have it ready, he’s fine where he is. No one comes to these rooms anymore,” the voice continued past his door. Crowley didn’t start breathing again until the footsteps died off in the distance. Once they were gone, he was on his feet and started running room to room opening doors.

On the fifth door, he found a single being tied down to a chair in the middle of the room. It was dark, but the starlight lit his face. He spoke without looking up as Crowley came in.

“If you’re back to ask me more questions, you must know I’m not going to tell you anything about-”

The angel looked up and his eyes found Crowley’s face. A beatific smile filled his relieved face and tenderness infused his voice, “Crowley.” 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What if... I just more than doubled the word count in the third chapter.

Aziraphale stared up into familiar golden eyes. Relief flooded him. Gabriel had warned him that Crowley wouldn’t be coming for him, and he had been terrified about what that meant. Michael had smiled at the fear on his face. To see Crowley restored a piece in him that he hadn’t realized had been torn asunder.

Realization set in, Crowley was here in Heaven and that could mean any sort of dangerous things for his demon. They needed to get out of here quickly, “We need to get out of here quickly, my dear. If they find you-”

“Who are you?”

Aziraphale had expected a variety of responses from Crowley, most of them ignoring his own safety. What he hadn’t expected was Crowley’s eyes to stare at him as if he didn’t know him, “What?”

Crowley stalked forward, “Who are you? Why is there a lectern in my flat and an angel-winged mug, what are they hiding?”

The demon frowned down at Aziraphale. There was no love in that gaze, just suspicion. Aziraphale wanted to scream no. He wanted to curse Gabriel and Michael. And what he needed most of all was to keep it together for Crowley. Crowley was the most important thing right now. He forced his emotions away until it was safe.

“They took your memories?” Aziraphale’s voice cracked.

“Possibly. Don’t know. All I know is that there’s a series of clues and they somehow point to you. I can remember you, a bit. Why were we standing in church rubble?”

Aziraphale’s eyes slid shut against the pain, then he opened them again and looked fearlessly at Crowley. He had a demon he needed to take care of, and right now that involved getting them both out of here. Crowley would tell him to make a plan, and he was depending on him now. “I don’t expect you to believe me. Not now at least, but I can prove it to you given some time,” he paused, “Crowley, I’m your friend. We’ve known each other for six thousand years. We have an  _ arrangement _ between the two of us. To help each other when needed.”

“We don’t. I wouldn’t make a deal with an angel,” Crowley hissed.

Too much. It was too much for Crowley, too quickly. He’d been cautious with Aziraphale on the wall until he realized he wasn’t a threat and he needed Crowley to realize he wasn’t a threat now.

“I can prove it to you. And I’ll do everything I can to restore that which was taken from you,” he glanced down at his bound wrists, “but I can’t from here. How can I reassure you?”

“Tell me something you shouldn’t know.”

Aziraphale wanted to both laugh and cry, “Oh my dear, what would you like me to tell you?”

“What’s my favorite food?”

“You don’t particularly like to eat, though you have a fondness for apples. You usually prefer wine and your taste there varies.”

Crowley’s eyes widened but he didn’t look convinced, “Good guess. Alright. I-” he paused and thought, “What’s my real name?”

Aziraphale’s heart softened as he thought about a demon confessing his truth in a desert so long ago, “Crowley. Your name is Crowley. Some of the demons still refer to you as Crawly, and the humans know you as Anthony J. Crowley. But your name is Crowley.”

Crowley was shocked. Aziraphale didn’t want to rush him but they didn’t have time for this. They didn’t know how long the others would be gone. 

Crowley seemed to come to the same conclusion and stepped forward and started to untie Aziraphale.

Aziraphale tried to convince himself that it was foolish to hope Crowley would gently rub his wrist or look at him as if he knew him. Crowley’s hand brushed his own and they both paused for a moment, Crowley looked pained.

Aziraphale felt his sense of the demon surge as final cords fell from him. Their aura’s brushed and Crowley paused for a moment, looking at him confusedly.

“My hand on your cheek. We were in bed, and you had a tartan pillow?”

“I promise I’ll explain everything, I’m so sorry to rush this. Do you mind if I get us out of here quickly? Someplace safe?”

Crowley seemed to debate a decision then he relaxed, “Go ahead.”

Aziraphale reached out and took his hand as if it were the most natural thing in the world. He smiled reassuringly at him. Then the world changed and they were no longer surrounded by a star-scape. Instead, they stood in a desert.

“This is where we met,” Aziraphale whispered, “I was Guardian of Eden. Still am actually. Guardian of the Eastern Gate.” He whispered a summons in Enochian and as if appearing from a mirage, a tall wall rose in front of them, “We’ll be safe here. When they put me as Guardian they didn’t realize that no one else would be given domain here. You can only enter with my permission. Or the Almighty’s.” He held out his hand again, this time as white wings manifested, “Join me?”

Crowley took his hand, unfurling his wings. Aziraphale took in their obsidian beauty before turning back. A moment later they were over the wall and into the Garden of Eden. Still as lush and as beautiful as it had always been. Aziraphale led the way to a small pool of water and landed near it.

“We met here, from time to time. After Adam and Eve left. You taught me how to eat figs here,” he glanced up at Crowley, “I’ll answer any questions I can. And I will of course try to heal you once you’re ready for that. I know it will take a level of trust you probably don’t want to give quite yet.”

“How do you know that?”

Aziraphale stared at the being in front of him. The only being who had ever cared for him. The one he had given his heart to so many times over the course of their time together. His love that was looking at him still as if he were a stranger. He pushed down his feelings again, “I’ve known you six thousand years Crowley. You’re not that reckless, love.” Aziraphale snapped his mouth shut, angry the word had escaped him.

Crowley rocked back, taken aback. He said nothing and somehow that made everything worse.

“I’m sorry. I’m trying not to go too fast,” Aziraphale’s heart ached, “you deserve that. I don’t know what they did to you, but you deserve my patience now more than you realize.”

Crowley looked at him, trying to understand the angel in front of him, “You’re sad?”

Aziraphale looked up at him. A bit of truth couldn’t hurt, “Sad. A bit scared. You’re, well. We’ve known each other for a long time, my dear.”

“Why would they do this?”

Because you love me. Because you think you don’t deserve me, but you’re the best thing in my life, “We encouraged Adam to stop Armageddon. You always thought they’d retaliate somehow. I’d hoped you were wrong.”

“You- I was there. I helped Adam.”

“We both were. Adam was magnificent of course.” So were you, Crowley. Meeting your eyes over Adam’s head, both of us able to see the good in humanity that no one else sees.

“He was human,” Crowley said as if not quite knowing where the words came from. He shook his head, “Fuck someone this is frustrating. Tell me something only you would know.”

Aziraphale smiled softly and looked past Crowley’s shoulder, “You get mildly ill to your stomach when you eat too much cheese. You wear your sunglasses not just to hide your eyes, but because it helps against how bright humans prefer their indoor lighting to be. You say you don’t read, but you have dozens of books stashed around your flat. I don’t know how much they tampered with your memory, but you used to utterly despise Shakespeare.”

Crowley gaped at him, “I do not have books hidden.”

“Carefully placed where they’re not quite noticeable then.” Aziraphale couldn’t keep back the smile smile at the insulted look on his face.

Crowley fell silent and then he seemed to come to a decision, “Try to heal me? Please?”

Aziraphale opened his mouth, then shut it. He hadn’t expected this, not so soon. Crowley had always been fast to make decisions though. And fast to fall for an angel. He slowly stood and rested his hand on Crowley’s forehead. He reached out, trying to find what was broken. There was a fog layered over Crowley’s mind, but Aziraphale was relieved to realize that it was on top of it. Whatever it was hadn’t changed his mind, it had just fogged it. Then he realized how deep the fog went as his slowly wrapped his powers around it, trying to pull it loose and away, desperate to free Crowley’s memories.

Crowley’s eyes were staring far away and he kept flinching as if he was seeing things not there. Aziraphale wondered if he was doing some good. Crowley let out a quiet sob and hope surged through Aziraphale. Then something lashed out from the fog. A purple bolt him and he was flung back, slamming into a tree. 

Crowley jumped to his feet and crouched at the Aziraphale’s side examining him. Aziraphale tried to smile, but he was sure it was more a grimace. Crowley reached out and offered him a hand up, and that did more to assuage Aziraphale’s pain than anything else.

“I saw more,” Crowley whispered.

More of what? They’d shared so many memories. Some were good, and some were not. Crowley was still here, hopefully that meant it was some of the more pleasant ones had been restored to him, “I’m so sorry, something was blocking me and I tried to push through. Probably put there by Gabriel. You were always the one that was better at magic, and this isn’t a real healing.” He looked at Crowley worriedly.

“You gave me a tartan thermos,” Crowley looked at him questioningly.

“I did.”

“There was something about it that made you sad?”

Aziraphale gulped. Truth, he owed Crowley the truth. He spoke softly, “You asked me for Holy Water. The first time I said no, but you were going to go after some anyway. But the humans, they wouldn’t have known why it was dangerous to you, and one errant splash-” he took a breath, “I was scared of what would happen to you.”

“Aziraphale, you’re not telling me something. What are we? Really. This isn’t a business arrangement.”

“It- I didn’t lie. It started out as a friendship. And a business arrangement.”

Crowley stayed silent, waiting.

“After the Apocalypse things changed,” Aziraphale said, not quite sure how else to phrase it. Crowley didn’t look at him with quite as much suspicion now, but he longed for the ease of their friendship.

“You love me.”

“That’s not a question.”

“No, it’s not. Why?”

How could one explain six thousand years of friendship and longing? How could one explain falling in love even though it was so utterly forbidden it would mean your mutual destruction and had apparently resulted in this? And how could one explain that every shared moment had been worth all the risk and pain because the being in front of you completed you in a way you’d never known.

Aziraphale stayed silent for a moment, and when he spoke it was softly, “I don’t know when we fell in love Crowley. Only that both of us were for a long time. We were both afraid to act, not because we thought the other didn’t love us but because we knew how dangerous it would be. Then the Apocalypse didn’t happen, and things changed.”

“What things?”

Aziraphale raised a hand and took Crowley’s own, “This, for one. We changed, Crowley. What was the point in holding back if we were both condemned anyway?” he laughed lightly, “When we survived our trials, there was no reason to not be together. For whatever time we had.”

“How long?”

“Pardon?”

“How long have we been together? It’s been a year since the Apocalypse.”

“That long, Crowley. One year. We had anniversary plans tonight, actually,” Aziraphale trailed off towards the end, looking at the garden wistfully.

“Sorry, angel.”

“It’s not your fault. You rescued me, as you always have. And now it’s my turn, just as I’ve always been there for you. We’ll get you back my dear, I just don’t want to hurt you in the process.”

Crowley looked at him, and then he opened his arms.

Aziraphale wondered if he dared take this gift. It wasn’t right, Crowley wasn’t himself currently. But his arms were open and Aziraphale knew that was the one place he needed to be. He stopped thinking and let himself fall into Crowley’s embrace.

Crowley caught him, as he always had. He was as warm and safe as he’d always been, from that first moment. Crowley may not recall him, but he could recall every second. Crowley held him and he couldn’t stop the sob.

For a heartbeat Crowley stiffened, then his grip tightened around the angel in his arms. Aziraphale didn’t know what prompted him, but suddenly Crowley was the one whispering and reassuring him.

  
“S’alright. I’ve got you. We’ll get this figured out. We both need it, and we’ll get there. It’s alright.”

Aziraphale didn’t think, he just tipped his head up as he had done so many times before to catch Crowley’s lips.

Crowley kissed back and Aziraphale couldn’t find it within him to deny himself this piece of comfort, not right now.

When he finally pulled back with a gasp, Crowley gave a throaty chuckle.

“Well, I understand why we have this now. Just not sure why it took six thousand years.”

“Tempteous snake,” Aziraphale choked out trying to laugh. He rested his head on Crowley’s shoulder.

Crowley’s raised his hand to gently run it through his hair, “Ah. That’s why. Still, Aziraphale. We’ll figure this out.”

The pair spent the next week trying everything they could think of. They attempted more healings, human memory exercises, and even hypnosis.

Nothing truly happened until the day Aziraphale stared at the Tree of Knowledge. He walked to it, carefully picked an apple, and held it out to Crowley. He breathed a silent prayer to the Almighty, that she protect the one he loved. There was no way this was safe, a demon eating from the Tree. And yet it was their next best idea, and Crowley had sworn it was worth the risk and talked him into it over the course of three days.

Crowley reached out to take the apple. Then his hand paused as he gazed from the fruit to Aziraphale.

As Crowley’s fingertips brushed the apple, he fell to his knees, doubled over as if in pain.

Aziraphale wasn’t sure where he threw the apple as he rushed to Crowley’s side, falling to his knees to try to get a better look at what was going on.

Crowley fell over into his lap, but then Aziraphale realized that the demon was laughing through his tears. He caressed Crowley’s back slowly and waited.

Finally, Crowley gasped out, “I remember. Aziraphale, I remember.”

Aziraphale went rigid, unable to comprehend that this week-long nightmare could be over so easily. Then he let out a soft cry as Crowley pulled him down to the ground and into a kiss.

When the kiss broke Aziraphale gasped out, “Everything?”

Crowley laughed, “If you’re asking if I remember that bathing suit incident back in the early 1800’s the answer is yes.”

“Cold-hearted serpent,” Aziraphale said the words with a laugh in his voice but a tear was rolling down his cheek, “I thought I’d lost you.”

“Never. Not going to happen. Right here,” Crowley wrapped himself around Aziraphale. Aziraphale shook in his embrace, dry sobs shaking him. He knew he should be checking on Crowley and ensuring everything truly was restored and that the fog was gone.

He couldn’t stop himself from crying. And then Crowley was crying with him while peppering him with kisses. Slowly, Aziraphale calmed and then cuddled himself in closer.

Aziraphale let himself rest in Crowley’s embrace. It was the same being he had been cuddled up with for a week and yet whatever had been missing was restored. Perhaps it was the way Crowley’s hand traced his back to make him shiver or the way his other hand gently toyed with his curls. Aziraphale wasn’t sure what the difference was, but his heart ached with joy at the change.

Eventually, Crowley sighed, “We should figure out who was behind this so we can put a stop to it before it happens again.”

“Gabriel. It was Gabriel. He pulled Michael into it as well,” Aziraphale mumbled.

“Why didn’t you tell me before? No never mind. I know why. They can’t get in, you said?”

“No.”

“Then we’ve got time to figure out a plan.”


End file.
